Eastern Bluebird (SC)
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Species: Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)
Location: Kiawah Island, SC
Status: Two hatchlings
Location: Kiawah Island, SC
Status: Two hatchlings
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May 10 - Of the three nestlings, one has been found dead in the nest, cause unknown. The cam records show very little parental activity within the nest box today. On average one of the parents was seen visiting the nest every 50 minutes. At this age, nestlings require nourishment every 15-20 minutes during daylight hours. |
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May 9 - While only females brood the nestlings, both parents will take part in feeding the young. This picture shows the male at the entrance hole, presumably having just given the female food to feed to their young. |
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May 8 - On Saturday, May 6, only three of the six eggs hatched. Either one of the parents may remove the infertile eggs, but more likely, they will remain in the box until the nestlings fledge. |
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May 5 - The eggs are nearing the end of the incubation period and are expected to hatch any day now. One of the eggs has a slight depression in its shell and probably will not hatch. |
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May 3 - A clear shot of the female on eggs while the male feeds her insects through the entrance hole. |
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May 1 - Only the female will incubate the eggs. Females typically spend close to 60% of their time incubating. In the eight hours that we recorded this female, she spent less than two hours on the nest today, or roughly 25% of her time incubating. |
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April 30 - The lone egg (see below) was placed back with the other 5 eggs by a nest box monitor yesterday afternoon. The female began incubating the clutch shortly thereafter. |
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April 29 - These images show first a male bluebird entering the box. It is uncertain if it is the male parent. Soon after, the female enters the nest, begins aggressively attacking the male, and forces him to exit (middle). The scuffle results in one of the eggs being dislodged from the main clutch (bottom). Typically, bluebird mated pairs are very cooperative, which would suggest that this male is not the female's mate, but without banding the birds, we can not be certain. |
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April 28 - The nest box that initially housed the video camera has since been occupied by an Eastern bluebird pair. This female is currently sitting on six eggs. |